Peorians of a certain age can’t help but think of 117 N. Western Ave. as anything but Jumer’s Castle Lodge.

Sure, that spot hasn’t been known by that name in more than a decade. In fact, it’s no longer a hotel but an assisted-living center.

But if you’ve been around Peoria awhile, a glimpse of the signature turret can’t help but conjure wistful memories swirling with the likes of cinnamon rolls, the black bear and Jimmy Binkley.

The site long was home to Kramer’s Drive-In, which James Jumer bought in 1960. A decade later, he envisioned a Bavarian theme, transforming the spot into the 168-room Jumer’s Castle Lodge. It was known for elegance, to a large degree thanks to the antiques Jumer bought around the world and displayed in the inn.

Yet in 1999, Jumer’s five-hotel chain (in Illinois and Iowa) filed for bankruptcy. Five years later, Jumer’s was sold to a group that operated under the Radisson flag. James Jumer died in 2008, and the hotel folded a year later.

In 2011, after $7 million in renovations, the structure reopened as a 104-apartment facility called Courtyard Estates of Peoria. By then, interior mementos of Jumer’s had been sold off, bought by souvenir-seekers eager to take home a piece of Peoria history.

But outside, the turret remains, still standing sentinel to Peoria’s past. Its long, tall shadow reaches back to a time when success seemed to come easier — when it somehow made perfect sense to build a huge Bavarian castle to serve as a hotel in the middle of a residential area.

Journal Star staff

2 Comments

yes that is the drivein I took my girl friends to before or after we were at a movie at a movie down town . I ended up working with the guy who ground the meat for my burgers. yes they ground the whole cow just like any good place would. attention to detail.